Chapter 146 Remarriage
Lin Baozhu's words were like a shot in the arm, instantly calming Lin's mother's panicked mind. "That's right, our daughter is the most decisive person in the family these days! Listening to her is definitely the right thing to do!"
Lin's mother clutched the money in her hand, turned around, and hurried towards her parents' home. Lin Baozhu didn't dare to delay, grabbed her tools, pushed her bicycle, and called out to Lin Sanlang, "Third Brother, let's go!"
Just as the two were about to leave, the timid Li Erni suddenly rushed over, grabbing the back seat of the bicycle tightly. Her face was pale, and her voice was trembling with tears: "Sister Baozhu! Don't go! That old widower... he has several brothers and nephews, and the people in the village are the most protective of their own! If only the two of you go... you'll get hurt!"
Lin Baozhu felt a warmth in her heart. She reached out and ruffled the little girl's hair, then casually pulled a handful of White Rabbit milk candies from her pocket and stuffed them into her arms. She waved her hand dismissively, "Erni, be good and wait at home! Your cousin is very capable! I'll bring your sister back safely before dark!"
After saying that, she nimbly mounted her bicycle, with Lin Sanlang following closely behind. The two of them sped off like arrows towards the village!
Just as she reached the entrance of Tianzhuang Village, she saw several teenagers playing "Red Light, Green Light" on the dirt road. Lin Baozhu's eyes lit up, she stopped the car, took out a crisp five-mao note from her pocket, waved it in front of the children, and said with a smile:
"Hey kids, I have a question for you! What's been happening in your village lately? I love listening to stories, and whoever tells the clearest and most interesting one gets to keep the 50 cents!"
Lin Sanlang, standing nearby, was so anxious he was stamping his feet. With his eyebrows in the air, how could his little sister still be in the mood to play with the child? What if… what if that old beast had already… He simply didn't dare to think about it!
Lin Baozhu patted his arm subtly, giving him a look that said: "Take it easy."
One of the clever older boys blinked, looked at the money, then at Lin Baozhu, and suddenly said, "You...you want to ask about the young wife that Old Man Tian just 'married'? Why don't you just ask directly instead of going through all this trouble!"
Before he could finish speaking, his little hand swiftly snatched the fifty cents, clutching it tightly in his hand. Then, he lowered his voice and said with lingering fear, "Old Man Tian is horrible! He loves to beat people! Last year, his son was beaten to death, and he went even crazier, seeing everyone as an enemy! We usually avoid him, afraid he'll suddenly come out and go crazy!" As he spoke, he unconsciously patted his chest, as if the old widower's image was right before his eyes.
Lin Baozhu pulled out a handful of White Rabbit milk candies from her pocket and handed them over: "Good child, thank you! Could you take us to see the area near the old widower's house? Just point to a door in the distance."
The boy stared at the candy, his Adam's apple bobbing. He swallowed hard, but finally turned his face away with difficulty: "No... I'm not going! Just passing by his house is creepy, it'll bring bad luck!" He paused, then quickly added, "But his house is easy to spot! There's a big, crooked sycamore tree in front of the house, it's the tallest and baldest!"
"Thanks!" Lin Baozhu stuffed the candy into his hand, then jumped onto her bicycle and shot off like an arrow toward the location of Old Man Tian's house!
At this moment, an eerie atmosphere permeated Old Man Tian's dilapidated courtyard.
Old Man Tian was dressed in an ill-fitting, stiffened black coat, with a drooping red cloth flower pinned to his chest. His deeply lined face showed no joy, only a stagnant gloom and numbness.
Beside him, the petite Li Dani was being held down by two burly women, her shoulders pressed tightly, her head forced down. Like a fledgling bird with clipped wings, she struggled in vain, her tears long since dried, leaving only fear and despair in her eyes.
"Today is not only my good day to remarry, Tian Laosan, everyone eat and drink well!" A middle-aged man who looked like the manager shouted, which drew a burst of scattered, meaty laughter.
"Third brother, you should have come to terms with this long ago! Look how great this is, after the wedding ceremony, you go in and be with your new bride, and we brothers will be outside having a good laugh for you!" Someone jokingly teased loudly with ill intent, and the vulgar language caused everyone to burst into laughter again.
No one cared that the bride was still a child, no one worried about the potential tragedy that might occur tonight, and no one stood up to say a word for the trembling girl. The air was thick with the stench of cheap liquor, sweat, and a nauseating indifference.
"Please... let me go... I'm only thirteen... I'm still a child..." Da Ni's voice was hoarse and weak, like the whimper of a dying animal, "You're trafficking people... it's illegal..."
"Shut up!" The old woman holding her down frowned and pinched the tender flesh on the inside of her arm hard with her withered fingers! Da Ni trembled all over in pain, let out a muffled groan, and her strength to struggle was instantly drained away. Her head drooped low, and her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
Seeing that she had finally "behaved," the old woman disgustedly let go of her, secretly spitting out: What a wretched thing!
She simply couldn't understand it. Old Man Tian was practically half-buried in the ground; what could he possibly do with a wife now? Have children? He probably didn't have that ability anymore! Rather than doing something so immoral and filled with anxiety, it would be better for him to adopt a child and take care of him in his old age!
She glanced sideways at the skinny girl beside her, her eyes filled with conflicting emotions. If this kind of "bought" wife wasn't beaten into submission and feared, who knew what trouble she'd cause later! The higher-ups were investigating so strictly... if it really got out... none of them, the accomplices present, would escape!
A chill ran down the old woman's spine, but she absolutely could not let Li Dani go. She still needed to live in the village, and she couldn't let a stranger block her path.
If the villagers had paid more attention over the years, this little girl wouldn't have been able to escape the mountains!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com